Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a sexually transmitted, gram-negative pathogenic bacterium that infects more than 820,000 Americans annually, with Louisiana having the highest occurrence in the US. An ever increasing concern is the continued isolation of multi-antibiotic resistant strains of N. gonorrhoeae, especially oral gonorrhea since the throat can act as a silent reservoir. In response to this global crisis, a strategy is being developed in our laboratory for producing antimicrobial agents given the acronym GUMBOS (Group of Uniform Materials Based on Organic Salts). GUMBOS are a novel group of solid phase organic salts that traditionally use ionic liquid counter-ions; however, the melting point range of GUMBOS have been extended beyond that of ionic liquids. The melting point of GUMBOS fall in the range of 25-250 °C, whereas the melting point of ionic liquids lie below 100 °C. GUMBOS permit the pairing of charged pharmaceutical species through chemical reactions to obtain favorable physical, toxicity, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacophoric properties. In this study, antibacterial GUMBOS were synthesized from existing, well-known antiseptics and beta-lactam antibiotics and studied with clinical isolates of varying antibiotic resistance. These GUMBOS were characterized by use of nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Efficacy was tested via the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and a parallel artificial membrane permeability assay. We have hypothesized that synergetic effects as a result of combining antiseptics and antibiotics in the form of GUMBOS will minimize drug resistance capability of N. gonorrhoeae. In this talk, data will be presented and discussed for support of this hypothesis.

Prevention and treatment of oral gonorrhea using antimicrobial GUMBOS

255th National Meeting (2018)

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